A traditional plug-in electric vehicle (e.g., a fully electric or hybrid electric vehicle) uses an on-board or off-board battery charger to recharge the vehicle's battery from a utility alternating current (AC) outlet. When the vehicle is not being driven (e.g., when the vehicle is parked at home for the night), the vehicle's operator may connect the vehicle to an outlet via the battery charger. The battery charger is a may then draw current from the utility in order to recharge the battery.
Traditional battery chargers have several implications with respect to a vehicle's physical, manufacturing, and/or operational characteristics. For example, inclusion of an on-board battery charger in a plug-in electric vehicle adds to the overall weight of the vehicle, thus decreasing the vehicle's driving range for a given battery charge. In addition, as an additional component, a battery charger consumes physical space and adds to the vehicle's manufacturing cost.
Traditional battery chargers also may indiscriminately draw power from an electric utility, which may increase the overall cost, to a consumer, of operating a plug-in electric vehicle. Many utility companies have rate plans that include increased utility fees for power drawn during time periods when the utility company typically experiences peak usage (e.g., “peak usage time periods”). A peak usage time period may include, for example, a period between 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., when many consumers are at home for the evening performing power-consumptive activities (e.g., cooking, laundry, and so on). In addition, such a peak usage time period is likely to coincide with a time period when a plug-in electric vehicle's battery charger is connected to a utility AC outlet, as described above. When the battery charging process occurs during a peak usage time period, the utility fees charged to the consumer that are associated with recharging the battery may be higher than they would be if the battery were charged during a non-peak usage time period (e.g., a time period when the fees are lower, such as between midnight and 5:00 a.m.).
In order to increase the incentives for consumers to purchase and use plug-in electric vehicles, it is desirable to provide methods and apparatus to reduce the overall cost, to the consumer, for operating a plug-in electric vehicle. In addition, it is desirable to provide methods and apparatus to provide battery charging capabilities while reducing vehicle manufacturing cost, vehicle weight, and/or the physical space consumed by a traditional battery charger. Other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.